Bard to pay $181m for DTC distributor Liberator Medical

C.R. Bard (NYSE:BCR) said today that it agreed to pay $181 million to acquire Liberator Medical (NYSE:LBMH), a direct-to-consumer distributor of durable medical equipment.

The deal, expected to close during the 1st quarter next year, calls for Murray Hill, N.J.-based Bard to pay $3.35 per share for Liberator. The bid is a 36% premium over Liberator’s 90-day average closing price through yesterday. LBMH shares closed up 6.4% at $2.66 apiece yesterday.

Bard said its share of the Stuart, Fla.-based distributor’s offering is small and that it intends to continue to distribute other companies’ products through Liberator.

“This acquisition is a key building block in our strategy to access faster growing markets. As the population ages and more healthcare is expected to occur outside of the hospital setting, we believe that having direct access to the patient in the home is strategically important. We look forward to adding a strong distribution platform with potential for future growth to our product and technology platforms. We also look forward to continuing to work with the other manufacturers that are part of Liberator’s product offering,” chairman & CEO Timothy Ring said in prepared remarks.

“We are pleased to reach a milestone in the growth of Liberator by entering into this agreement with C. R. Bard. We expect that this transaction will create attractive long-term synergies and opportunities for our business partners and customers from the combined companies’ ability to offer a broader portfolio of products. We plan to continue offering the same high-quality products to our customers in urology, ostomy, diabetes and mastectomy from our existing suppliers, plus an expanded range of additional categories of high-quality products from Bard,” added Liberator founder & CEO Mark Libratore.

Bard said it expects the merger to provide a slight boost to adjusted earnings per share next year, on sales of roughly $70 million. In 2017, the Liberator business is expected to add 5¢ to 10¢ to adjusted EPS and contribute to organic sales growth, the company said.

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